Changing the Words
by Skye Maxwell
Summary: Instead of Wet Side Story, Mack and Brady end up in High School Musical 2. They are not welcome visitors, and things go haywire rather quickly. Troy and Gabriella's relationship is already in trouble, but two strangers in need of their help might change their relationship completely.
1. Chapter 1

Thomas Fulton, looking out of place on the golf course in his neatly-pressed suit, walked stiffly across the fairway as he went to the second hole to check on one of his newest caddies. The summer sun was high in the sky and baring down on him uncomfortably, but nothing made him sweat quite like young Miss Evans breathing down his neck about Troy Bolton.

As much as he didn't want to be checking on some delinquent teenage boy in the fulfillment of some crazed teenage girl's fantasy, Mr. Fulton did appreciate the temporary isolation from the country club members and their demands. When he was alone, he liked to think of the future.

The Lava Springs Country Club was a pretty good gig, especially during the school year when Sharpay Evans was a safe distance from him and his mental health. However, his dream was to move back east and manage a five-star hotel that scraped the sky. He would love to work at maybe a Hilton hotel, or better yet, a Tipton hotel—something big and beautiful and far from spoiled little rich girls.

Mr. Fulton was almost feeling peaceful when he heard a loud splash from the direction of the long, shallow pond that snaked along the right side of the first hole's fairway. He turned just in time to see a surfboard land unceremoniously on top of the water.

"Is this some sort of prank?" Mr. Fulton wondered out loud, scratching his head at the curious sight before him.

He began to cautiously approach the pond and nearly jumped out of his skin when two heads popped out of the water.

"Holy camoly!" he yelled in fear, but as soon as he realized that the two heads belonged to two teenagers, his blood began to boil. Now on the warpath, he stomped toward the pond as the two teens flailed about, gasping for air.

"Mack! Are you okay?" Brady exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" she shouted, but as soon as she did, she realized that something was very wrong. Her voice was way too loud…

Brady was focused only on her, and when her expression became extremely confused, he said, "Mack, what's wrong?"

"Brady, the surf… I was trying to yell over the sound of the surf, but there _is _no sound of the surf," she said, looking up with concern at the perfectly blue and cloudless sky.

"What?" Brady asked, but then he looked at the water around him, only to find that it was completely placid, aside from the ripples that his and Mack's movements were sending out.

They both exchanged a look and then simultaneously stopped kicking, letting their feet fall and touch the bottom of the pond. They realized that the water only came up to their chests, and that's when the panic set in.

Mack looked around frantically, taking in the rolling mounds of green around the pond, as well as the trees and buildings in the distance.

"Brady, where are we?" she asked, holding onto his arm for some sense of stability.

Looking in the opposite direction, Brady discovered something even more confusing.

"Uh, Mack? There's a man coming straight at us, and he looks _really_ mad!" he warned, starting to pull her toward the opposite side of the pond.

Mack yelped at the sight of Mr. Fulton, who looked about ready to blow his top as he scooted toward them.

"You delinquents get out of that pond right this instant!" he screamed, shaking a finger at them.

"Well, if you insist!" Brady yelled back nervously as he and Mack neared the pond's edge and got ready to make a break for it.

"Wait, no! Stay right there!" Mr. Fulton backpedaled. "I will not have children running around my country club engaging in whatever shenanigans they please! You just wait until I call your parents!"

"Run!" Brady yelled to Mack as soon as they had their feet on dry ground.

Hand in hand, they took off, running haphazardly across the neatly kempt grass.

"What did we ever do to him?" Mack asked breathlessly as she looked over her shoulder and saw the man running around the length of the pond in an effort to catch them.

Brady also glanced over his shoulder and said, "Whoa, he can run pretty fast for an old dude."

"Brady, focus! How did we get here, and why are we running away from an angry guy in a suit?"

"I have no idea, and because he's a scary man who I really don't want to be near!"

Mack looked back once more and saw the man kick it into high gear, quickly gaining on them.

"Fair enough!" she replied anxiously to Brady, running even faster and leaving the more important questions for later.

"You two get back here!" Mr. Fulton shouted. "This is private property! I'll have you both arrested and tried as adults!"

"Arrested?" Mack yelled back at him. "Isn't that a little much?"

"Not in my book, it's not!"

"We're trespassers? And since we're running away, now we're fugitives!" Brady reasoned aloud.

"Let's split up," Mack suddenly decided, dropping Brady's hand but continuing to run beside him.

"What? Mack, no!" Brady cried, stopping in his tracks. "Is it because I'm a fugitive?"

"No, Brady! I mean split up as in run in different directions!" Mack clarified quickly. "It'll be harder for him to catch us. We'll find each other later, I promise. Now go!"

He seemed hesitant, so she pushed him in one direction and then started sprinting away from him.

"Oh, no you don't!" Mr. Fulton yelled as he saw the two teens split up. He came to an abrupt halt, catching his breath momentarily while deciding which one to go after.

He looked toward the girl and then realized that she was running straight toward the second hole.

Taking his walkie-talkie from his pocket, he turned and took off after the boy, ignoring the strange looks he was getting from a couple pulling up to the first hole in a golf cart.

He held the small device up to his face and loudly yelled, "_Troy!_"


	2. Chapter 2

Troy had been trying to teach Mrs. Evans how to properly drive the ball when Mr. Fulton's voice exploded from his pocket.

"_Troy!_"

Mrs. Evans was mid-swing and was so startled that the golf club flew straight out of her hands and into a bunker.

Also startled, Troy ripped the walkie-talkie out of his pocket, nearly dropping it and then fumbling with it in the air before actually catching it.

"Nice catch," he told himself before pressing down the button on the walkie-talkie while Mrs. Evans ran off to fetch her club.

"Hello? I mean… yes, Fulton, uh, sir?"

"Bolton! There is a female suspect headed toward you from the southeast. Brunette, about 5"6. Apprehend and detain her until I instruct you further."

"Okay," Troy replied, but then he shook his head. "Wait, what? Are you okay? You sound out of breath."

"Never mind that! Just be useful for once and do what I told you to!"

"And what exactly did you tell me to do?" Troy asked, not sure he had heard Mr. Fulton correctly.

Fulton groaned loudly. "There's a sopping wet girl running in your direction. Stop her, or you're fired!"

"Uh, okay. Ten-four?" Troy said uncertainly, and then Mr. Fulton was gone.

"Fulton is such a weird dude," Troy said, putting the walkie-talkie back in his pocket. "Why do I have to stop some girl? I'm pretty sure that's not in my contract. Which way is southeast, anyways?" he wondered, looking up at the sun and trying to remember which direction it came from.

His answer came more quickly than expected, however, when something powerful slammed into his back.

Mack had been too busy looking over her shoulder to see Troy until it was too late. She tried to slow down, but her wet feet slid on the grass until she made contact with him, nearly causing him to topple forward.

He caught himself and spun around rather gracefully, and when he saw Mack falling, his arms shot out and caught her.

"Nice catch," Troy told himself, earning a weird look from Mack.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," Mack apologized tentatively. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Troy answered. Not moving out of their awkward position, he surveyed the sun shining off the girl's wet brown locks and asked, "How tall are you?"

Thrown off by the question, Mack answered, "Um, about 5"6?"

Troy looked almost regretfully at the girl in his arms and told her, "I think I'm supposed to apprehend and detain you."

Not sure if she should be running away from this guy as well, Mack put on her best charming smile and requested, "Could you not?"

"Fulton would fire me if I didn't follow his instructions," he said, his eyes betraying his inner conflict.

"Fulton? Is that the name of the man in the suit with the glasses?" Mack asked a little uncomfortably, not quite sure why he hadn't let go of her yet.

"Yeah, that's him. Why is he after you?"

Mack didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust this boy and that he would somehow be able to help her and Brady out.

"There was just a misunderstanding," Mack tried to explain, anxiety rising back up in her chest. "My friend and I… accidentally fell into one of the ponds, and then Fulton threatened to get us arrested, and he tried to chase us down, and now he's still after Brady, and this is all just a huge mess!"

Troy looked into the eyes of the distraught girl with sympathy as he set her back on her feet.

"Yeah, Fulton can be a real stickler about trespassing, especially on the golf course, _especially_ if you're trespassing with the intent of having fun. I would know," he said with a grin.

His smile was infectious, and Mack couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Look, you seem like a really nice guy, and I just want to get my friend back and get out of here without getting into any trouble. Do you think you could help us?"

Troy tried to come up with an answer but was interrupted when Mrs. Evans returned, her driver in hand.

"Well, who is this, Troy?" she asked suspiciously, looking Mack up and down and frowning at her surfing attire and overall dampness.

Troy opened his mouth to introduce her but then realized he didn't know her name.

"I'm Mack," Mack said quickly. "It's nice to meet you."

Troy noticed the way that Mrs. Evans was eying Mack, and Mack did too, taking a small, cautious step backwards. He could almost see the desperation to get away on her face, even though she was trying not to show it, and it made him want to drop everything to help her.

However, he already had two strikes with Mr. Fulton and had been promised a prompt firing at his third strike, and he really needed this job. If Fulton caught him trying to help out Mack and her friend, he would be unemployed for sure.

Mack took another step backwards, accidentally bumping in to Troy. When she looked up at him apologetically, his thoughts about his job suddenly fell away, and all he could see was this charming stranger in front of him that that made the risk seem worth it.

Making up his mind, Troy threw together something plausible and said, "Mrs. Evans, this is one of Sharpay's friends. She… got lost, and Sharpay just radioed in asking me to bring her back."

"Oh. Well, you better get her back pronto! You know how Sharpay gets," Mrs. Evans said reasonably, all suspicions about Mack dropped since she had learned long ago not to question the weirdness of Sharpay's friends.

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans. I'll send out another caddy for you right away," Troy said with relief, placing a hand on Mack's back and steering her toward the main building where Sharpay would most likely be.

"Thank you," Mack whispered up to him, almost making him trip over his own feet.

"Troy! Send out that cutie Chad, would you?" Mrs. Evans called as the pair walked away.

Troy sent an uneasy smile back to her. "Will do, Mrs. Evans! Will do…"


	3. Chapter 3

_But then you went and changed the words, now my heart is empty..._

* * *

Gabriella leaned forward in her lifeguard's chair, sighing. Things had been pretty boring lately; no one had needed rescuing since Sharpay had tumbled into the pool. No one talked to her unless they were flirting with her or being obnoxious. It really was a good thing that no one was drowning, but she didn't like how much uninterrupted time she had to just sit there and think.

The subject that most often occupied her thoughts was Troy, but that wasn't as good of a thing as it used to be. She wasn't sure if he had changed during the summer, or if she was just getting a better picture of who he had been all along. Either way, he had forgotten her, abandoned his friends, and broken his promises one too many times.

The number one thing on Troy Bolton's mind this summer was Troy Bolton, and Gabriella was a smart girl; she cared about him, but she didn't have to take him constantly breaking her heart.

She had taken this job because of him, and now she was one strike away from losing it… because of him.

Sitting atop her chair, high above the pool and its occupants, she couldn't feel lower as she realized something that broke her heart a little more: she was being dragged through life instead of marching through it.

Gabriella quickly wiped a tear from her cheek, knowing what she had to do.

Suddenly, something bright yellow caught the corner of her eye.

It all happened in a matter of seconds: Gabriella looked up and saw a tall blond running way too fast out of the main building while looking over his shoulder…

"Watch out!" Gabriella screamed, but he didn't hear her in time.

He sprinted straight into the pool, only realizing what was happening and yelling in surprise a moment before he went underwater.

Adrenaline shot through every inch of Gabriella's body as she dove into the pool and kicked her legs powerfully to reach the boy, hoping he hadn't swallowed too much water. She got her hands on him and their heads surfaced at the same time, but then there was a huge splash seemingly out of nowhere that sent them both underwater again.

Keeping her composure as best as she could, Gabriella regained her grip on the boy, and they resurfaced again. She pulled him to the side of the pool as he coughed violently, and she made sure his hands were securely grasping the edge.

Trying to suppress his coughing, Brady looked into the eyes of his rescuer, trying to say something but unable to get it out. He watched her eyes glaze over as he held her gaze.

Gabriella grabbed the edge of the pool, feeling how time seemed to be making up for how fast it had just gone by slowing down drastically. When he looked at her, all sound went away, only to be replaced by a dull roaring in her ears that sounded like ocean waves. For a few seconds that passed like hazy summer days, he was all that occupied her consciousness.

He had turned his head away as to not cough in her face, and she gingerly reached her hand out and touched his arm. He moved his lips to say something, but she couldn't hear it.

"What?" she said quietly.

"Save him!" he finally choked out, breaking Gabriella from her trance by jerking his head in the direction that the giant splash had come from.

Gabriella looked in that direction and immediately screamed, "Mr. Fulton!"

Time went back to an exaggerated speed and sound quickly flooded back into her ears as she crossed the distance to Mr. Fulton, who was struggling to keep his head above water.

He was thrashing so fiercely that he didn't realize she was trying to save him, making her job incredibly difficult. She got kicked several times and was nearly elbowed in the face before she got a good hold of him.

"Stop splashing!" she yelled, trying to prevent him from dragging them both back underwater. "I've got you!"

He was too set in his panic to hear her, and they both went under together. She tried her best to kick and push them both upward, but his weight and the force of his struggling was too much for her.

She was running out of air much faster than Mr. Fulton was running out of fight, and she was trapped, unable to get away from him. Trying to get them both to the surface repeatedly and failing miserably, Gabriella had the sudden urge to burst into tears and scream for help, but doing that would have ended her even more quickly.

It was her job to rescue other people, but now it looked like she wouldn't even be able to rescue herself.

Then there was a flash of yellow, and suddenly Mr. Fulton was pulled away from her, allowing her to reach the surface and gasp oxygen back into her lungs.

"Pull him out!" a voice yelled.

Gabriella looked just in time to see Taylor and Ryan run up to the poolside and quickly pull a writhing Mr. Fulton out of the pool, up and away from the boy in yellow who had just saved her. Mr. Fulton was clutching his right arm and letting out punctuated yells of pain between bouts of trying to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" Taylor yelled to Gabriella, to which Gabriella only gave a slight nod.

Taylor took that as a yes and turned her full attention to Mr. Fulton, who was coughing up water. Ryan, who had first aid training, was watching Fulton intently but did not appear to be too worried, much to Gabriella's relief.

She felt a sudden drop in her energy when her brain let her realize that no one was in immediate danger anymore, and she was swiftly losing the will to keep herself up. All she wanted to do was collapse and not move from wherever she landed for a good, long time.

"Hold on!" Brady shouted shakily when he looked back and saw an unsettling resigned expression on her face.

He put his arms around her, acting as her life jacket, and her tired arms went around his neck as she tried her best to choke down a sob.

"It's okay," he said gently, obviously disturbed by how shaken up she was. "I've got you. You're safe now, okay?"

When she didn't respond, he repeated, "You're safe now."

_Safe, _Gabriella thought, letting the word tumble around in her head for a moment. She finally closed her eyes and nodded, allowing herself to believe him.

All too soon, he asked her, "Do you think you can you make it to the stairs?"

"Yeah," she breathed, forcing down feelings of panic and letting go of him.

"I'm right here beside you, okay?"

She nodded and then started paddling halfheartedly toward the stairs in the corner of the pool.

When they both reached the stairs, he quickly climbed onto them and then offered his hand down to her. They both made it up the steps, and then Gabriella wearily wrapped her arms back around Brady, leaning into him while she tried to get her breathing back to normal.

"I'm Brady," he said to the top of her head as he allowed her to collect herself.

"I'm Gabriella," she replied, not moving. "Thank you for saving me."

Brady gave a small smile. "Back at you, Gabriella."

He looked toward Mr. Fulton and the two who were tending to him.

"Is he okay?" Brady called to them.

"His arm is broken. He hit it on the edge of the pool when he went in," the guy wearing a flamboyant hat responded.

"He should be fine. We're going to drive him to the hospital," the girl decided out loud.

"Are you guys gonna be okay?" Brady asked, looking at them and then down at Gabriella as she shuddered involuntarily.

"Yeah, go ahead, we've got him," the girl replied knowingly.

Brady nodded to her gratefully and was about to pull Gabriella inside to dry off and calm down when he noticed the rest of the people around the pool watching them.

They had cleared out of the pool and witnessed all of the chaos that had just happened, but now they were just lingering, waiting to see if the show was over.

"Pool's closed! Stay out of the water!" Brady yelled, scanning the area with a serious expression.

He then snagged a nearby towel that looked dry and draped it around Gabriella's shoulders. They turned their backs on the people who were still watching them as if they were characters on a movie screen, and this time, Brady made sure to watch where he was going instead of looking over his shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: This went way longer than I originally intended. And it's way more serious. Huh.  
Just so you know, I see this as happening during the day prior to when the announcement about junior staff not being allowed in the show and "I Gotta Go My Own Way" would have happened.  
****Moral of the story: don't look over your shoulder while you're running super fast. Also, don't kick the lifeguard. No, seriously, don't do it.**


	4. Chapter 4

Brady sat on a bench outside the women's locker room, waiting for Gabriella to get changed. She hadn't said much on the way to there, only telling him where to turn and which doors to go through. She had held tightly onto his arm the whole time; he could still feel where her fingers had been on his skin.

He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Everything had gotten so crazy so fast. He had no idea how he had gone from being in the ocean during a storm trying to save Mack, to being saved by Gabriella in a country club pool. Brady felt a headache coming on as he tried to figure out what was happening.

"Fulton!" a shrill female voice yelled from around the corner, making Brady start and cementing his headache in his skull.

A girl in a sparkly swimsuit and high heels appeared, looking like she was about to tear the place apart.

She spotted Brady and made a beeline for him, almost causing him to get up and make a break for it. However, that strategy didn't go so well with Fulton, and he couldn't just leave Gabriella, so he decided to take a more calm approach this time.

"Can I help you?" he asked the girl, who stopped abruptly in front of him and looked him up and down.

"Not unless you know where that deranged old man Fulton is! I have been looking _all_ over for him," she vented, hands on her hips. "He must not really like his job if he's going to hide away all day and not do what I tell him to!"

"What do you need from him?" Brady asked cautiously, not sure what was up with this girl. He sensed that she didn't really care who he was; she only wanted to use him as an object to which she could voice her complaints.

"What do I need from him? I _need_ him to make sure those Wildcats don't ruin my show! I _need_ him to put out an announcement that junior staff aren't allowed in the show this year so that they don't try and steal _my_ Star Dazzle Award or _my_ big moment with Troy!" she cried.

"Sharpay! Are you _serious _right now?" Gabriella voiced from the doorway of the locker room, having overheard Sharpay.

"What are you doing here?" Sharpay asked indignantly. "Shouldn't you be outside, pool girl?"

Brady watched in surprise as an angry Gabriella marched right up to Sharpay and stuck a finger in her face.

"You are the most selfish, delusional person I have ever met!" Gabriella fumed. "Those _Wildcats _have been working incredibly hard on their act to make your show _better, _not to mention working day after day to keep your country club running, and this is the thanks you give them? What good is cutting them out of the show going to do?"

"I need all junior staff members to work during the show. We wouldn't want to be understaffed, would we?" Sharpay asked rhetorically, standing her ground.

"You just don't want them to outshine you! You're jealous that Ryan found someone else to perform with after you kicked him to the curb, and you're jealous that they're actually _really_ good!"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Sharpay said tightly.

"Sharpay," Gabriella tried to reason, "It's _your_ show. If you want the Star Dazzle Award that badly, then just give it to yourself! The Wildcats won't care, and honestly, they won't be surprised. But don't take the show away from them."

"I'm going to do whatever I want, and some freaky little genius girl isn't going to stop me," Sharpay barked.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that," Brady said, standing up and towering over Sharpay.

"And who do you think _you _are?" Sharpay asked, not about to back down from anyone.

"He's my friend, and I'm tired of you pushing around people that I care about," Gabriella said, stepping closer to Sharpay.

"First you cast your little spell on Ryan, and now you're with this guy? You just wait until I tell Troy," Sharpay threatened.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Gabriella asked, genuinely exasperated with the girl in front of her. "Do you think running to Troy and telling him whatever lies you make up is going to make him forget me and fall for you? I know you're smarter than that, Sharpay."

Sharpay practically hissed, "If you think that you're going to still have this job tomorrow, you're severely mistaken."

"I don't want it! I don't need this job, and I definitely don't need the stress. I took this job because of Troy, but if I'm not wanted here, I'm gone! I quit! Come on, Brady, let's go," Gabriella said, taking his arm and leading him away from Sharpay.

"You don't deserve Troy," Sharpay said to Gabriella's back, stopping Gabriella in her tracks.

"Gabriella," Brady said gently, nudging her forward.

Gabriella shook her head, letting go of him and turning around.

"And you do?" Gabriella asked Sharpay.

"Yes, I do," Sharpay replied matter-of-factly, crossing her arms.

"Whether or not I'm in the picture," Gabriella said slowly, gathering the words she had been keeping inside for too long. "Troy has _zero_ feelings for you, and that's something you can't demand or buy or trick him into. That's the truth, and sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with that. If you want to wait until he's forced to say that to your face, then go ahead, that's your choice. But just know that no one is going to be there by your side for the fallout."

"Gabriella?" Troy asked as he came out from his hiding place around the corner, looking completely confused. "What do you mean whether or not you're in the picture?"

He had been sneaking around the building Charlie's Angels-style with Mack when he overheard Gabriella confronting Sharpay.

"Not now, Troy," Gabriella said, looking at him wearily and just wanting to get away from both of them.

"No, Gabriella, now. Tell me what's going on," he said seriously, approaching her slowly.

"Gabriella just quit her job," Sharpay reported with a smirk.

"I didn't ask you, Sharpay," Troy said uncharacteristically harshly without looking at her, shutting her down.

Not sure what was happening or why Troy had suddenly left her alone in their hiding place, Mack peeked cautiously around the corner. Her eyes immediately locked on to the person she and Troy had been searching for, making her drop all thoughts of sneaking around and being quiet.

"Brady!" she cried, running down the hallway toward him.

"Mack!" he exclaimed, relief rushing through him as he caught her in his arms.

"I'm so glad that we found you," she said, squeezing him hard. "I was starting to think that Fulton had gotten you and handed you over to the police to be tried as an adult!"

Sharpay eyed the two strangers and then looked to Troy and Gabriella, who were also watching Mack and Brady. Gabriella frowned slightly and then looked at the ground, seeming to be very uncomfortable. Troy stared, looking as if someone had just kicked his puppy.

"Are we safe here? Where did he go?" Mack asked Brady, referring to Mr. Fulton.

"Yeah, where is he?" Sharpay asked suspiciously as Brady and Mack let go of each other.

"Ryan and Taylor are driving him to the hospital right now," Gabriella said quietly, not looking up.

"The hospital? What happened?" Troy asked with concern.

Gabriella explained, "He had an accident in the pool…"

"An accident in the pool? What did you do to him?" Sharpay asked with an accusatory tone, as if she cared about Mr. Fulton's welfare.

"She saved his life, that's what she did to him!" Brady stepped in, surprising Mack, who had rarely ever seen him upset. "She saved me too, and she doesn't deserve to be treated like this!"

"You meet a pretty lifeguard because she has to save your sorry butt, and in the same day you think you know what she does and doesn't deserve?" Sharpay scoffed.

"No one deserves to be treated the way you treat her," Brady said at a normal volume, having calmed down. "Not even you."

"Get off of my property," Sharpay said pointedly, albeit more quietly than usual.

"My pleasure," Brady said, turning and walking away. Gabriella fell in step behind him, leaving Troy and Mack to look at each other in confusion and then follow after them.

Sharpay watched them go and huffed in frustration, trying her best to fight back the nagging echoes of the ugly truths that had been spoken to her. She had to push down those thoughts so that she could hold on for dear life to her made-up world and carry on as usual—entitled, regretless, _fabulous_…

* * *

**So, a couple of questions… One, pairing-wise, what do you expect to happen based on what you've read so far? And two, what would you prefer to happen? I'm curious. **


End file.
